11 comments:

Lou I think it is the usual story of media yelling "the sky is falling, the sky is falling". It may well be falling but if you saturate the papers, magazines and television programs with all the climate change warnings day after day the average person becomes numb to the warnings. It is like the H1N1 media blitz. There is no vaccine for most people...so everyone and their dog line up for it and lie and cheat to get theirs. The media jumps all over these stories with warnings about the shortage and the seriousness of the illness. Now there is enough vaccine for everyone and no one cares any more. The news has stopped talking about it. Fear mongering and we get tired of it. Another factor in the climate issues is that as an individual we wash out our bottles and cans, we reduce, reuse and recycle and then we see the terrible dumping grounds of all the poison leaking computers and t.v.s. It is overwhelming and people just don't know what to do. We feel impotent while the governments sweep it under the carpet. On a personal level we seem like small fish in a big pond but we have to start somewhere. As a group we can demand more from our governments. Along with that can come financial repercussions when factories leave and jobs are lost. I wonder how many people will give up their jobs for the greater good?

Exactly! That's why we must lobby our governments to not only be at Copenhagen but actually commit to doing something. We must start with limiting emissions and reducing pollutants. Yes it will cost us all but if we don't start it will cost the ultimate price.

"all I know is that you don’t wait until you figure out how the fire started before you put it out."That sums it up. for me, Lou.There's too much he said, she said, they said, they lie, you lie. Who do you trust?The megalo-corporations or the government?Tough call.

I have noticed a lot more products designed towards conservation in the last year or so. Hopefully that's a good sign. I know in the schools, the kids are taught to conserve energy, recycle and be less wasteful.

That's true Kathryn and it's a great thing but unfortunately it ain't the kids that are polluting and deforesting right now. Corporations need incentives to be cleaner - until it hits their wallets they won't make any changes.

Lou I hear you -- unfortunately we have PM with his head so far up his and Big Oil's Ass that he can't see what is happening. I have to just keep doing what I can for myself. We are just thankful that a young man was elected into the federal government just recently he isn't our MP but for the region next door to us. About 10 years ago he swam from one end of the Fraser River to the other -- about 1200 km to show the effect that we were having on the river's environment -- with people like him getting elected maybe someday they can be the majority. Fingers crossed.

The science doesn't look dodgy. 5 scientists appear to have played fast and loose with their language, but literally 99% of qualified climate scientists are completely convinced that climate change is a) anthropogenic and b) a massive, serious threat.

The opposition seems to be entirely encouraged by exactly those making money out of pollution - oil, mining, air and car companies, aided by politicians who see anything which restricts capitalism as a communist plot. Oddly, some communists oppose environmentalism as a check on working-class jobs - though the more progressive lefties see green technology as a whole new field for employment.

I notice that beautiful New Zealand has recently hugely increased its emissions…

I'm utterly depressed about the whole thing. Still, I'll be dead by the time life is miserable even for privileged North Europeans. Shame that the mass deaths and wars are going to affect the poor, black people who haven't contributed in the slightest to what's coming…

"I notice that beautiful New Zealand has recently hugely increased its emissions…"

Yes I know that our emissions have increased by 5% Vole but cheers for pointing it out anyway. Our recently passed Emmissions Trading Scheme is a rort in many ways. That's one of the very reasons I'm so pissed off about the whole sideshow - it's diverting us all from the real problem.

I'm not interested in a blame game in this forum - I think all developed nations have serious obligations and I reiterate my point that we must lobby our governments to not only be at Copenhagen but actually commit to doing something.

Lou, I stopped by expecting peace, calm, and quiet, a relaxing stroll through the quiet life.

What I got was, "all I know is that you don’t wait until you figure out how the fire started before you put it out."

I like fiery, fiesty Lou. :)

All kidding aside, you have to know I agree with you. Mega corps and the world's elite oligarchy seem hell bent on fighting any steps we take to fight climate change and environmental degradation. They want a chance to make money off the transition and they don't want us to become too independent. Consumerism is like crack and we(humanity)are the crack whores.